Meet The Award-Winning Young Ceramicist Making Intriguing Sculptures

Jess Graham’s enthusiasm for ceramics has been unwavering considering the fact that she was released to the medium as a superior college elective in calendar year eight. She was right away drawn to the tactile process of creating some thing up from a uncomplicated block of clay. Jess wound up having the topic for the relaxation of her schooling career, and then into university.

The emerging artistic graduated from her Bachelor of Great Art at RMIT in the center of final 12 months. Her a few-year program was stretched out to a few and a 50 percent yrs simply because of the pandemic, but it pushed her to ‘create a space’ for herself and her art – practically and figuratively!

‘I’ve usually loved hand setting up parts, and whilst I do nevertheless wheel throw things and use my pottery wheel, I do enjoy the way that hand develop pieces look,’ Jess claims.

‘Throughout my degree I constantly observed myself gravitating to normal clay bodies and not utilizing a complete heap of color in my perform. It wasn’t until eventually the remaining calendar year of my degree that I started generating my bulge pieces, but I do not see myself halting any time soon.’

It was these somewhat kooky creations with natural, overflowing ‘bulges’ that acquired Jess a place in Craft Victoria’s once-a-year New! Awards, the place she took household two coveted prizes, together with The Structure Files Rising Maker Award and The John Wardle Architects Craft Prize, much to Jess’s surprise!

‘Winning two prizes at the Craft Victoria Refreshing! Awards was a large shock to me,’ she claims. ‘I was going into the opening of the exhibition just to admire the work all around me and not expecting a matter.’

Now an award-winning graduate, Jess is a ceramicist by day and a hospitality worker in a neighborhood pub by night – and on weekends. Her exercise has a dual aim as well, as she creates both purposeful and sculptural parts. These assortment from straightforward, speckled cups, bowls and vases, to her much more sculptural pieces and exclusive vessels, impressed by the human form (which points out her shapely creations!) and the do the job of one more Melbourne ceramicist Zhu Ohmu.

Jess has recently established up her individual studio place in the back of her share house, in which she’s hectic operating on new items and a achievable selection, so enjoy this place!

Shop Jess Graham’s works on the net here.